The Edelbrock Supercharger LS3 Swap

“We don’t want to break it,” said Chris Johnson, senior calibration engineer at Edelbrock, as he tossed us the keys to our ’65 El Camino project car. He wasn’t referring to the engine or the car but rather the Muncie four-speed that is the wide-eyed weak link in the drivetrain between the roughly 700 hp at the flywheel of the now supercharged LS3 Chevrolet Performance crate and the gooey Toyos bolted to the Moser 12-bolt.

That’s our excuse for not having “after” numbers to accompany this supercharger installation story. No dyno guy wants to mop up precious ’60s Muncie parts off the floor of his dyno room. So for now, you will have to trust us. Mat the throttle, and the chassis leaps away from the pavement like it’s on a forklift and this car builds speed like a locomotive that just blew its stack. Let’s take a look.

The new E-Force Edelbrock supercharger kit is based on Eaton’s new Gen VI TVS 2300 rotor. It is roots style, meaning it is a non-pressure system with an equal number of lobes on each rotor that rotate away from each other, but with a 160-degree longitudinal twist. It’s this twist that allows the TVS-style supercharger to be more efficient at low speeds. The Edelbrock system inverts the supercharger so it moves air up from the front-facing intake, pressurizing a plenum before passing through twin intercoolers and eight individual 12-inch intake runners. The impressive design eliminates the low-end torque deficiency of a short runner, and because of the intercooler and the twist in the rotors, it greatly improves the efficiency of the Edelbrock supercharger at higher rpm, where heat and friction create diminishing returns.

This supercharger kit is designed for cars that are already equipped with a Chevrolet Performance LS3 crate engine, Chevrolet Performance computer, and supporting fuel and cooling systems. The base crate LS3 makes 430 hp and 424 lb-ft of torque. It uses the L92-style square port heads and a 204/211 duration at 0.050 camshaft to make power. It’s tough, with an aluminum, six-bolt deep-skirt block, and it revs to 6,600 rpm. The Edelbrock supercharger system promises 600 hp, a gain of about 150 hp over stock. Since our pre supercharged LS3 engine already made 600 hp, thanks to a stroker kit and ported Chevrolet Performance heads, we’re estimating about 700–725 hp from the kit.

The E-Force supercharger is an easy bolt-on with hand tools, a little fab work, and a weekend in the garage. The supercharger tuning is performed using a hand-held controller that plugs into the OBD-II connector on the factory harness. If your engine is modified with a cam, heads, or a stroker kit, there is a tuner version available as well.